Clipping Valkyrie's Wings
by CheerfulChemist
Summary: Post Valkyrie. After Dreamworld airs this will most likely be AU. This is a one shot. I have taken hints from the promo and first sneak peek of Dreamworld. You will find some references to past episodes and if you look very carefully one little NF Easter Egg. Obviously I don't own any Castle characters, but they inhabit my dreams. Epilogue added. Hope you like it.
1. Chapter 1

Beckett and McCord are desperately trying to track the stolen toxin and with it the precious antidote. In a grim parody of old times, Castle is behind Beckett, but now he struggles to keep up. The toxin is beginning to wear on his system. They pile into the SUV, on the way to the Pentagon. The door slammed tightly shut on information about Valkyrie as soon as the theft became apparent. They desperately need a wedge to pry it open again.

Unbidden, the terse text had appeared on Castle's I-phone: "See General Burke." The caller was identified only as Casino Royale. Castle instantly knew who had sent it. He had convinced Beckett and Beckett had convinced a reluctant McCord of the value of Castle's secret informant. McCord had been surprised that the general was willing to see them immediately. Castle and Beckett had just drawn grateful breaths.

Arriving, they were met by an aide who streamlined their passage through security and ushered them into the General's office. "Agent Beckett, Agent McCord, Mr. Castle, lets not waste any time," the general said, waving them to three chairs in front of his desk. "We have an extreme hazard in Valkyrie and we need to get it back faster than ASAP. I know that this is of considerable concern to you, Mr. Castle." Castle nodded at the understatement of the century. The general continued,"I can tell you what I know, but there is information that is still being blocked at the highest levels. That toxin was developed by a Dr. Tom Jones, and yes that is his real name. He became involved with a woman known as Selma Brown. We believe that Selma Brown was also known as Sonya Plushenko and that Dr. Jones was honeytrapped. The body of Dr. Jones was found this morning in his laboratory. A sad irony, he was poisoned by Valkyrie."

Castle wanted to smile at the use of irony, but he was too damned tired. It was getting tougher and tougher just to sit erect in his chair. He braced himself the best that he could.

General Burke continued, "We have been unable to locate Sonya Plushenko. She hasn't used credit or withdrawn money under either identity. Her apartment is empty. She is not driving her car. Clearly, she has no wish to be found. Our tools here are not designed for domestic use. I fervently hope that you have resources that we do not."

"Thank you, General," McCord acknowledged. As Beckett, McCord and Castle left the office, General Burke called after them:"Godspeed, Mr. Castle." The three were taken to an exit by the general's aide in a Pentagon golf cart. Castle stumbled a bit getting in, to be caught by Beckett's steadying hand. As soon as they were through the door, she wrapped an arm around him for the trip to the SUV. "Beckett, I'm OK," he said, a valiant, if unsuccessful effort at reassurance.

"No, you're not OK," she answered in an echo of his words while she was trapped atop a bomb. "But you will be, Castle. We are going to find Sonya and we are going to get the antidote."

Arriving at the HQ of the AG Unit, Beckett and McCord immediately went to work instituting facial recognition search for Selma Brown a.k.a. Sonya Plushenko. Data from every traffic camera, ATM camera, and TSA camera within the DC area was searched. Tech's had already been dispatched to search the tunnels under the golf course for any possible forensic evidence. In addition, chemical sniffers were employed to look for any possible trail left by the toxin."What can I do?"Castle asked.

Beckett crouched in front of the chair where Castle was sitting. "I think you should just try to conserve your energy," she told him.

"Beckett, you know I can't just do nothing any more than you can. Does Selma Brown have an e-mail account that I can search? Twitter? Anything?"

"That's a thought," Beckett agreed. "Why don't you take one of the tech stations and see what you can find?"

Castle moved slowly toward the station Beckett indicated. As he settled, Beckett place her hands on his shoulders kissed the top of his head, impervious to any critical glances by her colleagues. She didn't care what Gates thought when she embraced Castle during Alexis" kidnapping and she certainly didn't care what anyone thought now. Chances were slim that Castle would find anything that the AG team had missed, but Castle had surprised her many times before. That was a hope to cling to.

Beckett and McCord stood in front of the multitude of screens tracking the feed from a multitude of camera systems trying to find something, anything, that made sense. Beckett startled when she heard Castle yell "Got something!"

Beckett rushed to his side. "What is it?"she asked.

"Sonya Plushenko was a character in an old '80's TV show in a two parter called 'Stemwinder'. She was run by her grandfather who was also known as 'The Magician'. I looked for accounts with any variations of those names. I also threw in 'Dreamworld'. I found an account called 'Wind Me Up Dreamworld'. Ownership is listed as 'The Magician', but I can't trace it any further. The records are blocked."

McCord looked on in bemused admiration. "I'm beginning to see why you two are partners," she told Beckett. "We'll see if we can get through those blocks."

The fingers of two techs flew over keyboards. "Agent McCord," a round-faced young man with glasses said,"you won't believe this. That account comes out of the office of the Secretary of State."

"Are you sure?"McCord asked.

"Checked and double-checked" the young man assured her.

"We need to move this up." McCord told Beckett.

McCord went to Carl Villante's office and closed the door. Beckett could see some gesticulation and exchange of words until Villante nodded and picked up the phone. After some conversation, Villante exited his office with McCord. "Let's go see a man about a woman," he told Beckett.

"I'm going," Castle told him, standing up as quickly as he could manage it.

"Mr. Castle," Villante answered, "we are just going to ask some questions."

"I've been given less than a day to live," Castle insisted. "I need that antidote!"

Villante nodded his assent.

After another trip in the SUV, Beckett, McCord, Villante, and Castle arrived at the State Department. Precious minutes were wasted as they passed from one aide to another. Finally, they were shown into the office of the Secretary of State. Secretary Derry extended a hand to Rick. "Mr. Castle," he said, "I'm a great fan of your books."

"I appreciate that sir, but if we don't get some answers about this case very quickly, you have read your last one. I've been exposed to the toxin."

Secretary Derry shook his head and sank into his chair. "I am so sorry, Mr. Castle, but there is nothing I can tell you. Our office is aware of Valkyrie, but we are not aware of anything that happened after it shut down. We have had no contact with either a Selma Brown or a Sonya Plushenko."

"Sir," Castle pushed, would you find any significance from the name 'Dreamworld?'"

Secretary Derry narrowed his eyes but shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Castle, I truly am. I hope your team will find a better lead."

As soon as they were ushered out of the building, Beckett turned angrily to Villante. "The Secretary is hiding something," she said, almost spitting the words."Did you see his reaction when Castle mentioned Dreamworld?"

Villante nodded. "We'll explore the connection, but they'll have buried this deep."

Sitting in the back seat of the SUV, Beckett could feel Castle sagging against her. With an arm around him for support and taking a considerable amount of his weight, she led him back into AG HQ. "Castle," she said, "we need to get you lying down." Beckett led him to a couch in the break room. During the previous two months, she had slept there more than once.

Castle grabbed her hand. "Kate," he said, "you need to call Espo. He knew about Dreamworld. He had a friend who heard about it."

Kate bristled by reflex. How did Espo -?" She stopped, gazing down at the obvious pain of her fiance. "All right," she agreed. Smiling, she told Castle that they'd talk about his spilling the beans to Espo later. Castle weakly returned her smile.

Beckett pulled out her cell phone. "Espo, it's Beckett. I need to know what you know about Dreamworld."

"Beckett, I don't know what you are talking about," Esposito replied trying to maintain an air of innocence.

"Javi, I don't have time for this. Castle managed to get himself exposed to a deadly toxin. Somehow it is related to Dreamworld. If we don't find out what happened and find an antidote, he'll be dead in a few hours. Please!"

Esposito could hear the stress in Beckett's voice and understood that she was telling him the truth. "I'll see what I can find out and call you back," he told her.

"Javi, hurry!"

Castle stirred on the couch and covered his eyes with his hands. "Headache?" Beckett asked.

Castle nodded. "The light hurts my eyes."

Beckett turned off the lights and sat on the couch with Castle's head in her lap. "Try to rest," she said."It may help a little." Beckett stroked Castle's hair soothingly. McCord opened the door and motioned Beckett. Beckett rolled up her jacket and placed it under Castle's head, gently laying him down on the couch as she rose.

"How is he doing?" McCord asked. Beckett just shook her head."We may have a lead," McCord told her. "Apparently a rogue black ops operation was looking at using Valkyrie for assassinations of terrorist leaders. Bronson found out and was poisoned for his trouble, but not before he told Sonya Plushenko. Sonya is an agent investigating the rogue ops and also working as a source for the State Department. Sonya's team intercepted the rogue group after they broke into Dr. Jones' lab. They recovered the toxin and antidote but Dr. Jones was exposed to Valkyrie during the fight with the rogues.. Sonya's group turned the toxin and antidote over to the State Department, who had all the stockpiles of Valkyrie and the antidote shipped to a ghost base called Dreamworld."

"How did you get that?" Beckett asked.

A woman approached. "I told her," she said. "You can call me Selma. A little bird at the State Department told me you could use some help."

"We need to get that antidote from Dreamworld,"Beckett said."Now!"

"That's the problem," Selma told her." It's a ghost base. It moves. That means I don't know where it is."

Beckett scrubbed a hand over her face. "I'm going back to Castle." She turned and opened the door to the lounge. Beckett knelt by Castle's head. "Castle, can you hear me?"

"Not dead yet," Castle murmured.

"Listen, Babe. The antidote is at Dreamworld, but we still don't know where that is."

Castle opened his eyes and gave her a crooked smile. "Espo will come through. He knows he'll be able told it over my head forever."

The minutes ticked by, all too slowly and all too quickly at the same time. Beckett's cell finally rang. There was a text from Esposito. It tersely said that: "Dreamworld in Maryland woods" and gave coordinates.

"Castle, we have to go. The doctor from Walter Reed left a kit to give you the antidote if we found it. We're going to get it. Can you get up?"

"Piece of cake," Castle answered.

"I'm getting the kit and I'll be right back to get you," Beckett told him. Beckett headed for her locker to retrieve the kit. She felt McCord's hand on her arm.

"What do you think you are doing?" she asked Beckett.

"I have a source that found out where Dreamworld is. I'm taking Castle to get the antidote. We are almost out of time. I will let you know what I find there and if it is worth bringing in the team, but I have to take him. If you want to help, try to see that we don't get arrested when we arrive."

McCord gave Beckett an out of character hug."I'll do my best," she told Beckett. "Go!"

Beckett got the kit out of her locker and returned to the lounge for Castle. McCord headed for Villante's office. Beckett retrieved her jacket and helped Castle up. She put his arm around her shoulders and supported almost all of his weight. At that moment she was very grateful for her strength training.

Beckett flouted the speed limits hoping that her federal plates would keep the bears away. She had entered the coordinates into her GPS system. She was led to a wide but rutted track leading deep into the woods. She could see Castle wince with every bounce of the car. "Hang on Castle, we're almost there."

"No problem," Castle said. "How many tickets was this ride, anyway?"

Beckett couldn't help smiling at his effort, but she could see him slumping further and further down in his seat. His skin was also taking on an unearthly pallor. She could see the gates ahead. Beckett pulled out her ID and immediately showed it to the guard. "Beckett, federal agent" she told him. "This is life or death."

The guard nodded. "We've been informed that you were coming, Agent Beckett. Follow this road to building 4-1. What you need is there. "

"Hey," Castle rasped out. "4-1, my birthday."

Beckett touched his shoulder. "You could only have been born on April Fools Day. Let's hope it's lucky."

Beckett drove as fast as she dared and pulled up in front of building 4-1. She was met by a man in fatigues. "I'm Mike. I'm a med tech," he told her. I'll help you find what you need and administer it."

"I have a kit for that," Beckett told him. "Castle, I'll be right back."

Mike and Beckett ran into the building. He led her to a refrigerator filled with vials. Mike grabbed one and they ran back to the car. Castle was slumped in the seat. His eyes were closed. Mike felt Castle's carotid pulse, while Beckett pulled out the injection kit. "His pulse is very weak," Mike told her. Mike prepared the injection, palpated a vein in Castle's arm and eased the needle in, slowly depressing the plunger.

"Come on Rick," Beckett urged. "You told me that you couldn't imagine your life without me in it. Well I can't imagine my life without you in it either. Come back to me."

Beckett heard the whoop of a chopper. It landed and two men ran towards her with a stretcher. "We're going to airlift him to Walter Reed" one of them told her.

"I want to go with him!" Beckett shouted over the noise of the spinning chopper blades.

The man shook his head. "No room. You can meet us there."

The chopper took off and Beckett drove faster than she had ever driven before, even on her Harley. Pulling up in a restricted zone in front of an entrance to the hospital, she ran from the car. She grabbed the first person that she saw. "Federal agent," she said indicating the badge around her neck. "A patient named Richard Castle came in by helicopter. I need to see him now."

Beckett was led to a station where an aide consulted a computer. "Found him," the aide told Beckett. "I'll take you to him." Beckett was led into a room. The lights had been dimmed, but she could see Castle lying in the bed, hooked to a monitor. Beckett drew a breath of relief as she saw the steady beat of his heart on the screen, but he still looked deathly pale. Beckett smoothed back the hair that always fell over his face. She pulled a chair over to the bed and took his hand, laying her head down on his bed. As exhaustion took its toll, she drifted off.

"Beckett, are you napping?" Kate started at the sound of Castle's voice. Brushing his hair back once again, she smiled into the sapphire eyes.

"Just waiting for you," she said.


	2. Chapter 2

In Vino Veritas

After his release from the hospital, Castle was resting in Beckett's apartment for a day before the trip back to New York. Beckett went to work, trying harder than ever to prove herself to both McCord and Villante. Lounging on the bed, Castle rapidly became bored. He decided to try again for the salmon and red wine for dinner. This time, however, he thought he'd see if he could get his components delivered. Pulling out his trusty I-phone, he got to work. There was a market that would deliver fresh salmon, for a hefty premium, but the most important thing was the wine. He needed one that would make Beckett let down her hair and anything else that she wanted to drop. There was one store in the area. They didn't deliver, but he found a messenger service that could pick up the precious bottles, again for a hefty premium. Castle smiled, thinking that at times it really did come in handy to be rich.

After the arrival of the fish and the wine and various other items, Castle called Beckett. "Castle," you're supposed to be resting,"she told him.

"I have been," he responded, "but we have had deliveries of salmon and wine and other assorted items. I just need to know when you are coming home."

'Is it _that_ red wine?" she asked.

Castle's face lit up with his signature grin. "The very one."

Beckett smiled into her phone. "I'm not sure, but I'll call you as soon as I know," she told him.

Castle got to work in Kate's little kitchen. He carefully melted special dark chocolate and coated long stemmed strawberries with it. He put them in the refrigerator to set. He sprinkled a mixture of herbs on the salmon, covered it, and placed it in the refrigerator as well. Greens were washed and dried and placed in the crisper. He laid out the wine with Kate's corkscrew so that he could open it to breathe when Kate called.

From there the hours dragged. Castle played Angry Birds and an old favorite, Ninja Ropes. He got out his laptop to try to write, but nothing really came to mind. Finally, at 7:00 P.M. His I-phone chimed. The text from Beckett merely said: "Coming home."

Beckett came through the door, put down her files and immediately stripped off her jacket. Castle met her with a glass of wine. After the first sips, they kissed it from each others' lips. They were interrupted by the buzzing of a timer. "That's the salmon, "Castle" said.

Castle brought loaded plates to a table that had already been set and decorated with flowers and candles. They enjoyed drinking the wine and feeding each other morsels of fish. They moved to the bedroom where the strawberries accompanied even more wine. Beckett lay in Castle's arms as he pushed a strawberry past her lips. After swallowing the fruit Beckett lay in a pleasant haze. "Castle, I knew that you get off putting things in my mouth."

"And I knew that you liked me from the time you got me out of that book signing party," he answered.

'You know, Castle, I didn't fall for you then," Beckett told him.

"Kate, you're not still sticking with that?" Castle asked with a slight air of hurt.

Beckett reached up and laid a hand on his cheek.

"No," she said. "What I'm telling you is that I fell in love with you before we ever met. Your books helped me get through my mother's death. I stood in line for an hour just to have you sign one. When we finally met for real and you seemed to be such a brat, I was disappointed. I couldn't reconcile that man with the one who gave me Derrick Storm, or with the one who got me through the nights of my father's alcoholic haze. It was a while before I saw the man behind the boy. That's the man I know and that's the man I love."

Castle placed his hand behind her head, twining his fingers deeply in her hair. He pulled her in for a long slow kiss. With the wine and the truth, they both found deep rest in each others' arms.


End file.
